After dinner, Richard bid his mother goodnight and walked directly to Viscount Sott’s room.

Viscount Sott was drinking alone in his room at that moment.

Viscount Sott had few hobbies: martial arts, drinking, and watching circuses. Knights were required to maintain peak physical condition, and the viscount, being a connoisseur of wine, was particularly fond of strong liquor.

“Son, come quick—just in time. Stay for a few more rounds with your old papa.” Viscount Sott raised his cup, grinning broadly at Richard.

Sout never put on airs in front of Richard, and Richard, in turn, never held back with his father. He accepted the cup and drained it in one gulp.

“Father, I may need your guidance,” Richard said earnestly after draining the cup.

“Hm?” Viscount Sott set down his cup and looked up at Richard.

Viscount Sott might not have been a competent lord, but he was certainly a competent father. He knew Richard had been determined since childhood and possessed exceptional talents; when Richard spoke earnestly, Sout knew to listen carefully.

“I think I’ve grasped the fundamentals, and I want to understand how to become a full-fledged knight.”

At this, Sout’s expression grew more solemn.

Viscount Sott stood up and paced a few steps around the room.

“You’re even more exceptional than I had imagined.”

“The breathing technique our family employs was developed by your grandfather from the standard technique used in the military. Our family were hunters in the Ironwood, and during the Eastern War, we were drafted into the army. Your grandfather distinguished himself on the battlefield with his superior archery skills, and for his achievements, our family was granted a unique breathing technique.

“Your grandfather was a natural genius. By observing the behavior of wild animals in the mountains, he improved upon the standard breathing technique to create the Beast Breathing of the Hunter family, which is considered one of the best breathing techniques among those who practice it.”

Richard nodded.

The founder of the Hunter family was undoubtedly a shining example of a commoner who struck it big. He became a knight despite his common birth, and even left a legacy of martial prowess for his descendants.

After arriving in this world, Richard had learned that the quality of a breathing technique could be judged by its potential for advancement. The standard technique used in the military could typically yield results three times greater than the average person’s natural ability, while many techniques passed down within noble families could achieve four to six times the average.

The Beast Breathing Method improved upon by Richard’s grandfather, though perhaps not the best technique, was also far from inferior to the legacy techniques of some noble families.

“Unfortunately, your grandfather acquired too many hidden injuries on the battlefield. By the time he passed, our family only had a basic knight’s qi circulation method. Only I inherited your grandfather’s talent and became a knight with this basic technique.”

As Sout spoke, he changed from reminiscing about his father to boasting about himself.

Then Sout explained in detail how to perform the basic technique of qi circulation.

This technique was indeed common, but for ordinary, aspiring knights, it was much more difficult to obtain than the fundamental breathing techniques.

The nobles tacitly controlled the circulation of qi techniques, making it difficult for a commoner and aspiring knight to acquire one without serving a noble family.

“Empty your mind of distractions and feel the presence of qi with your consciousness.”

After explaining the method of cultivating qi circulation, Viscount Sott patiently guided Richard’s breathing, helping him feel the circulation of qi.

This was one of the benefits of having noble lineage: although the kingdom held open the doors for ordinary people to become knights,

However, for a commoner to be promoted from a quasi-knight to a full knight, they first had to serve their lord diligently and earn merits before being promoted, with the guidance of their lord.

Yet Richard received the one-on-one instruction of a full knight.

“Can you feel it?” asked Viscount Sott.

With his eyes still closed, Richard did not respond.

“There’s no rush. I’ll be staying in the castle for the next few days to help you.”

“A quasi-knight who can feel the qi within a week is considered a genius, and my son has such talent, so he will definitely be able to feel it within a week.”

At his father’s comforting words, Richard slowly opened his eyes, and a faint smile curved the corners of his lips.

“What did you say, Father?”

“Oh, I’ll be staying in the castle for the next few days to help you feel the qi?”

There was uncertainty in Viscount Sott’s tone.

“The line before that.”

“Hm? Can you feel it?”

“I can.”

As Richard spoke, he lifted his hand, and an inch of gray energy appeared. Though it was still weak, there was no doubt that he had successfully guided the qi into his body and controlled it.

Viscount Sott’s eyes widened, and his lips moved slightly before he finally managed to utter, “You truly deserve to be my son.”

In truth, the so-called qi guiding technique merely involved sensing the qi in the world around one with one’s mind, then completing a predetermined cycle within one’s body to store the qi inside, thus completing the promotion to full knight.

The difficulty in advancing from a quasi-knight to a knight lay in sensing the existence of qi with one’s mind.

It wasn’t particularly difficult for an ordinary person to become a quasi-knight; as long as they possessed breathing techniques and the means to do so, honing their body was merely a matter of time and patience.

Sensing the existence of qi with one’s mind, on the other hand, was an abstract and mysterious task, and most quasi-knights were tripped up at this step.

Perhaps due to having lived two lives, Richard’s mental strength was unusually robust, and upon executing the standard qi guiding technique for the first time, he sensed the presence of qi and smoothly completed the cycle within his body.

The strength of a knight lay in their ability to continuously strengthen their fleshly body through the circulation of qi within their body, often by a factor of two beyond their base physical capabilities.

Moreover, they could store energy within their body and release it during battle, using it to coat their armor for protective purposes or their weapons for devastating effect.

Among the knights, there was a saying:

“The only thing that can break through energy is energy, and the only thing that could oppose energy was also energy.”

Richard continued to guide the energy through his body, and after only a few cycles, he could already feel the strength that had stagnated for so long begin to rise, and his physical fitness was visibly improved by the energy’s enhancement.

Suddenly, Richard froze in place, looking shocked, and even stopped the circulation of energy within him.

“What’s wrong, Richard?”

Viscount Sott, who had been excitedly watching, sensed that something had gone wrong and asked anxiously, “Have you encountered some sort of problem?”

After all, it wasn’t uncommon for newly promoted knights to mishandle the circulation of energy and harm their own bodies.

However, Richard’s mind was completely absorbed by the new information that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Heroes of Might and Magic System Activated

Hero Template Loaded

Race: Human Race

Strength: 5.9

Constitution: 6.1

Agility: 6.5

Mind: 2.8

Skills: Beast Breathing Technique (Master Rank), Universal Qi Guiding Technique (Elementary Rank)

Young Genius Knight and Successor of the Hunter Family

Would you like to receive the initial military forces of a Castle (Human Race)?

Spearman (Squad)

Archer (Corps)

This string of text not only stunned Richard, but also brought back some vague memories.

It was a boring night. Richard had been playing the somewhat outdated game Heroes of Might and Magic while eating a bowl of instant noodles.

The noodle soup had been too hot, and he accidentally spilled it on his computer…